Her New Life
by CJGarnet
Summary: Adopted. That one word changes Hermione's life forever, but will it change for the better? Through the confusion of her new self Hermione learns to see certain people in a new light while discovering the mystery of her past along the way.
1. Explanation

**A/N: Hello! Hopefully if you're reading this that means you are about to read my attempt at a story. I hope you enjoy the first chapter and it leaves you wanting more. The more will be supplied later since I simply hate when authors abandon their stories. I'll have more to say at the bottom so tune in then!**

Explanation

Hermione Granger considered herself a fairly level headed person.

Sure she may get into a ridiculous amount of fights with Ron over inconsequential things, but Hermione always knew when they were both at their breaking point and she cut the argument off with grace.

By that she meant the argument was ended by her walking off before it could worsen.

When her friends copied her homework for the sixth time in a week, she resisted the urge to refuse their pleas for an essay with a few well placed comments they would not understand until after she left. Instead she told them in a normal voice (with a hint of irritation) that they would never truly learn anything and it would not be her fault when at the end of the year they failed all their exams. She rarely blew up, but when she did her anger could rival that of Mrs. Weasley upon finding her sons had dropped out of school.

So, of course, when her parents, who Hermione had trusted for seventeen years, told her she was adopted she gave the calm, rational reply of…

"WHAT!?"

Crookshanks hissed angrily from his spot in Hermione's arms, but was not acknowledged by anyone in the room. Not by the somber Mr. Granger, the crying Mrs. Granger, or the furious Miss Granger. When the latter's face started turning a bright shade of red that Crookshanks had not even seen on the freckle boy, he decided to make himself scarce until Hermione's mood was more cordial. Hermione did not even blink when her cat jumped out of her arms and bounded up the stairs. All she could think about were the two people sitting in front of her.

"Hermione, sweetheart, if you would just give us a chance to explain you would understand." Mrs. Granger's words were choked by her sobs which she was trying to stop. Her husband just looked at her with sad eyes and put an arm around her shoulders for comfort.

"A chance? Has the past not been enough?! You've had seventeen years of chances!" In another time Hermione would have been shocked to hear herself talking so coldly to the two people she loved beyond anything in the world. She sounded like a Slytherin, a malicious and uncaring Slytherin. At the moment though, she could not care less. Maybe she needed a bit of Slytherin at the moment.

Hermione's mother_, _Jean, wiped away some tears and continued with only a slight tremor in her voice.

"Please, listen long enough for us to tell you everything we know and then," Hermione could practically hear her swallow "you can make your judgments."

It really took a lot for her to sit down stiffly on the couch and not spew some caustic retort. They did deserve respect even if they were… _Liars? _The Slytherin in her head suggested. Best to ignore it for now otherwise she might go into another rage.

"Well seventeen years ago," For some reason, her father looked guilty at Jean's words. "I discovered I could never have any children. I took the news hard at first, as did your father, but we knew adopting was still an option. So months after we first found out I couldn't have children we had all the forms filled out and went to the hospital to meet our daughter. We went to Maranders hospital on a rainy day in June of 1980. Ours was a rather unusual adoption because children who are ready to be adopted are usually months old… you were three days old when we first met you."

"That's not possible." Hermione choked out in a whisper "I was born in September; it's on my birth certificate is it not?"

Jean just sighed and shook her head. "Your birth certificate isn't exactly real. Please though, allow us to get through the story. I'm sorry to say we do not even understand everything so questioning may be futile a lot of the time. "

All Jean received from her daughter was a stiff nod of acquiescence. Some small part of her brain told her it was better than yelling, but at the moment she would have preferred the angry Gryffindor to this one.

"So yes we met you the fifteenth of June in 1980. You were born on the twelfth to a Miss Cassandra Selene Barden. We talked with her twice ever, once on the day we adopted you and again the following day. We tried to find her later… but… we were informed that she died shortly after we last saw her.

Naturally we were shocked by her sudden death as she had seemed healthy- radiant really the last time we were with her. The only thing I noticed was that her expressions were a bit off. One moment she would seem perfectly content and then there would be a flash of grief before she covered it up again. I think it may have had something to do with your birth father, but what I have no clue. Cassandra mentioned him once when we asked if she wanted for you to know him. I remember her words perfectly. She said, 'Right now it is my wish that he never sees her. I assure you that he will have an impossible time finding you so you needn't worry about him knocking on your door. However, around the time she is seventeen it's likely that he will find her so be prepared for then.' She would not tell us why he would be able to find you easily so far in the future, but when you received your Hogwarts letter things did start to clear up a bit. As we learned more about the world of witches and wizards we were certain that Cassandra was a witch."

Hermione could not help but question her since there were many holes in the story and none of what Jean had said was making sense. She interrupted her in a rush.

"What made you think she was a witch? Could the things you noticed have just been coincidences?" Jean shook her head sadly.

"Hermione now that you know you are adopted, don't you think it strange that your hair is exactly the same as mine was through my life? The same applies to your eyes. They are the exact shape and color of mine."

A sharp gasp came from beside Jean. She looked at her father and saw him gazing at her slack jawed.

"You mean her eyes _were_ the exact shape and color of yours." He whispered. He received no response, but only an equally surprised wife with enough presence of mind to thrust a mirror at Hermione. She nearly dropped it when she saw her eyes. Moments ago, they were slightly round and a chocolate brown color, now though there were almond shaped cerulean eyes staring at her. The color was a bit of a shock at first, but they were rather pretty…

"Cassandra's eyes…" Jean muttered "Does this convince you that she was a witch? She must have done this as a way of hiding you from your father. That must be what she meant when she said around the time you were seventeen he would likely find you."

She said this more to herself than the other two in the room before turning her head back to Hermione.

"Do you know of some spell that could do this?"

Hermione tried to allow the know-it-all bookworm to come forth and spill the answers to the question, but it was like pulling a child out of their room to go to the doctor. When the bookworm came it was extremely reluctant and did not possess all the answers. Shocking, really.

"There are several actually. A simple Confundus would explain the possibility of an early adoption, but I do not know of any spell that would remain in place after the caster died. Even if she had some kind of Glamour spell on me that was effective after she died, it would have worn off by now."

Hermione nearly growled in frustration. It was not an everyday occurrence that found her completely clueless about a spell. All she wanted to do at the moment was go to the Hogwarts library and immerse herself in the shelves until she found her answer.

Hermione sighed in defeat and willed herself to stay focused on the two people sitting across from her if they had anything else to say.

"Is that all?" she said emotionlessly. Jean looked at her husband nervously before answering Hermione's question.

"Well there is one slight detail. Cassandra requested that we do whatever we could to protect your identity so we," Hermione's indifferent gaze switched to suspicious "we changed our names." Jean finished quietly. Hermione wasn't too shocked by this revelation. She was actually rather relieved that it was not another life-altering fact. After all, she had just been told her mother was a witch who died days after giving birth and she was adopted by the Grangers. The name change was a trifle compared to that.

"I suppose that makes sense." Hermione reasoned ever the logical one. "The chances of my middle name being the same as your first are ridiculous if I was named before you met."

"That was why I chose Jean, to try and piece together a more believable existence for you. I had always planned on giving my daughter my name as her middle name so I figured it would work in reverse as well."She cleared her throat a bit before continuing "Our names before we changed them were Margaret and Warren Brown." Hermione nearly snorted because the first person she thought of with that name was Lavender Brown. She quickly shook the thought from her head since it was a quite common last name.

There was an awkward silence as the three sat in the dim room. Hermione's brain was whirring incessantly trying to comprehend everything she had just been told and the gaps left in-between. Somehow she had more questions now than she had a second ago and the questions were just multiplying endlessly. She eyed the Browns (ugh that felt weird to think) and knew they would not be able to answer any more questions. She had already learned everything they knew regarding her adoption and she was sure the only thing they had left to say were some lovey-dovey words that were completely clichéd.

"Sweetheart," So it begins. "Just know that we will always love you even if you don't feel the same for us. We wanted to tell you, but it was all so hard. We worried that if we did tell you that you would be insistent upon finding your father and that is the one thing Cassandra was adamant about not happening. Apparently he's meant to find you soon."

Hermione considered her words carefully and thought about what had just happened. Yes, they were not her birth parents, but in the end did it really matter? They loved her and she loved them so why should _everything_ change now?

"Jean- Margaret… Mum, I still love you entirely, but this is going to change our relationship. Whether or not 'he is meant to find me' the truth would have been appreciated. I am not sure of what will happen now, but I would still like you to be in my life. "

Margaret nodded weakly, but her eyes shined in happiness that Hermione was not going to cut them out of her life.

"I think it would be best if I go to the Wizarding world and find a place to stay. If my father is supposed to find me then I imagine it will be easier there than here. Erm, when I do meet him I guess I'll come back and tell you how everything went."

Hermione paused and looked at the people who had been her parents for so long. She wasn't going to lie to herself and say how it had been perfect since that was not the case. True, she loved them, and it was obvious they loved her in return, but it still felt as though they were relatives taking care of their favorite niece, not their daughter. Hermione had never minded since she was certainly not needy, but maybe, it would have been nice growing up with her actual parents.

"I'll just go pack my things now." She stood still for one awkward moment before departing the same way Crookshanks had not too long ago.

x HNL x

The train rumbled its way past Hermione's window as she threw her bag onto the floor. She surveyed what would be her home for at least the next week and possibly longer depending on how long she could convince Tom to allow her the room. That's right, she was currently lodged in the Leaky Cauldron and besides some floating dust particles, it looked clean and that was good enough for her. Hermione fell onto the bed and pulled the thin hangings around to block out some of the light streaming through the window. As she lay down she considered where she was.

Sure she had told Jean that it would be easier for her father to find her in the Wizarding world, but was that really what she wanted? Maybe all she wanted was for this whole thing to have been a nightmare and she would wake up and find that the mother and father she had known all her life were the same and had not been harboring any life-altering secrets about her.

The realistic side of Hermione would not be squashed that easily. It barged in and told her to accept what had happened and appreciate the situation was not any worse. She ignored the creaking bed, what looked to be a roughly patched hole in the wall and vibrating windows because it was clean and safe here. What more could she want at the moment?

_The life you thought you had?_

The Slytherin in her head was becoming quite irritating as it always showed up when she was weak and prone to believe whatever it was saying. Stupid, sneaky, blighter had a way of popping up during Jean's story as well.

_You mean Margaret._

Although it was annoying, the voice brought up a good point. Well, in a roundabout way it did. It helped remind her of the name theories she was thinking of while packing.

Many things about this whole situation confused and hurt Hermione to no end, but she felt confident in her assumptions about not only her name, but also, the name of her mother. A few months ago she had read a book on Wizard Anthroponomy and it held several bits of information that could help her current predicament. Cassandra Selene Barden… Barden… Hermione was nearly certain that name was on the list of old Wizarding families in the back. Cassandra and Selene were both names from Greek mythology so it would be safe to assume she was named for the Hermione from Greek mythology rather than the Queen of Shakespeare's play.

That only left Jean a mystery.

Why would her mother give her a name that was quite plain compared to the rest Hermione had analyzed?

CRACK

Well that was an easy way to divert her attention.

~TBC~

**A/N: Like it? Love it? Hate it? Or something else it? Feel free to leave a review *nudge*nudge*. I realize I left many, many, many gaping holes in Hermione's story, but what point would there be to the story if I spit everything out at once? All will be revealed… eventually. Bye for now! xxxxxxx **


	2. A Visitor

**A/N: Thank you all for your reviews, favorites, and alerts; I really appreciate knowing people like my writing! Here's the next chapter.**

A Visitor

Upon hearing the crack of apparation, Hermione sat up so fast her head spun. She pulled out her wand and slid the curtain open whilst her mind frantically ran through a list of people who would intrude like this whether they were friend or foe.

The list vanished though when she saw her unexpected guest and knew without a doubt that she had never seen him before in her life. His face was partially turned away from her so she could not make out many features. All she could tell was that he looked like he was in his late thirties or early forties and had chestnut brown hair. He was tall and appeared fit to Hermione. She found it odd how he had yet to look at the girl who had her wand pointed steadily at him, but instead was looking around the room with interest.

"I haven't been here in awhile." She heard him mutter almost too quietly to discern even in the still room. Hermione did not lower her wand, but loosened the tight grip she had on it since she was nearly sure this man meant her no harm. Perhaps he was visiting a friend staying there and had apparated into the wrong room. She cleared her throat slightly and spoke.

"Excuse me sir, but you are in my room. Would you care to tell me what you're doing here?"

The man turned to face Hermione and he looked stunned to see her. Now that Hermione could see his face she noticed that he had an olive complexion and bright brown eyes so dark they were nearly black. He had strong features, but his good looks were marred slightly by a look of pain that seemed to be permanently etched on his face.

"_Mia figlia_." he whispered in disbelief.

Hermione furrowed her eyebrows. What did that mean? It sounded Italian, but the only language she knew besides English was Latin.

"Sorry? I'm afraid I don't understand." She said in confusion.

The man smiled slightly and raised one of his dark eyebrows.

"Don't you?" Hermione nearly protested at his words as she felt they were some sort of insult to her intelligence, but he silenced her with a wave of his hand.

"Did your… parents… tell you something today Hermione? Was it some sort of grand secret that changed your life forever?"

He must have seen the angry look on her face for he carried on swiftly.

"I have not come here to taunt you if that's what you are thinking." Hermione cut him off with her own words.

"At the moment my main concerns are who the bloody hell you are and how you managed to find me."

She expected at least a hint of shock from him since she was not one to curse at adults, but he merely appeared amused and let out a low chuckle.

"Ah, _figlia_ have you looked in the mirror recently?"

Hermione blanched. She had not expected that response from him and could not stop herself from anxiously peering around the room for a mirror. After all, she knew more changes to her appearance were likely to come and one may have cropped up since her talk with her parents. The man noticed her predicament and silently passed a conjured one to her.

Her appearance had been altered even further than the last time she had checked. Before, the only difference had been in her eyes. Now she not only had unfamiliar blue orbs staring at her, but her hair and lips had changed. She silently thanked Merlin that her face itself was the same. You could still tell it was Hermione Granger… well except for the plumper lips and straighter hair.

Oh who was she kidding!? Upon first glance the things people noticed about her were her eyes and inevitably her bushy curly locks. Who would notice this new Hermione at first? Better question was who would believe her reasoning (that she could not even fully comprehend at the moment) and not attribute her changes to some vain need?

Instantly, endless nights in her dormitory with Parvati and Lavender started going through her head.

_Hermione you would look gorgeous if you would just use a little of this in your hair…_

… _it works! I took this potion three times a day and now they're bigger!_

_How can you not care?! This is an amazing spell! No split ends for a month, who wouldn't want that?_

All those times she had refused their beauty advice and now she had to return to school looking like this!

The combined force of everything that happened during her day built up too far and Hermione burst.

Well not literally, but her anger did come forth in that moment.

There also happened to be only one person in the room to receive it.

"WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME!!?" Hermione shrieked. She was panting and only vaguely aware that her wand had bright red sparks coming out of it.

"The spells your mother placed on you are wearing off. I'm certain it has something to do with my proximity to you, but how much I am not sure." He said this so casually that it only proved to make Hermione angrier. However she attempted to speak in a calm voice that came out as more of a hiss.

"Just how much do you know of this whole thing?"

"Enough. We have much to discuss, but I'd prefer to do it somewhere more secure. You never know who could be listening in a place like this."

Alarms immediately went off in Hermione's head. No way could she just pop off to some unknown place with a perfect stranger. Her time with Harry had lead her to become less trusting of people. What with Pettigrew, Quirell, and the imposter Moody she had plenty examples of a little trust leading to an awful ending.

"Sorry, but anything you have to say will be said here. I refuse to go anywhere with you until I can trust you. Don't even consider forcing me, I know enough hexes that would put you in the hospital for weeks."

_Threatening someone without a second thought, good job Gryffindor. _Shut up you slimy Slytherin!

Ignoring the voices in her head Hermione gave the man a steely look. All the while she was thinking how ridiculous it was that she had been in his presence this long and still did not know his name.

He did not look the slightest bit concerned with her threat and simply cast a wary eye around the room. He lifted his wand that lay limp in his hand after he conjured the mirror and cast some spells on the room for protection.

"I think it would be for the best if you asked questions and I answered them. Many times I find that telling a story with the listener in silence can leave gaping holes and unsatisfied people on both ends."

Was he referring to the story the Grangers had given her? Did that mean he had met them?

"Do you know of the conversation I had earlier today?"

"Will a simple yes suffice or will you want the reason behind it as well?" Okay, now she was sure he was taunting her.

"Reasoning would be much appreciated." she said stiffly.

"As you wish, yes I do know of the conversation you had with the Grangers, around breakfast time I believe. I know this because approximately," he paused to look at his watch though Hermione had a feeling that was more for show than anything. "An hour ago I paid them a visit. They only looked mildly shocked to see me which I did not find too surprising, but I did find it disappointing. I find the element of surprise can make things quite exciting.

Anyways, with little explanation on my part, I heard the same story you had by looking over their memories. Their story left much to be desired and had I not known the rest of it through my own resources I probably would have been angry at the lack of details. I was not angry, but I was disappointed when I found that you had left only moments before my arrival. Who knows though, this could be for the best. I imagine it would have been quite awkward at times explaining this in front of them, _figlia._"

"There's that word again! What does it mean? What are you calling me?" She asked with pure confusion lacing her voice and showing all over her face. The man gave a small smile at her expression. It didn't really seem to belong there.

"Not familiar with Italian are we_? Non ti preoccupare; presto risolveremo quel problema. Figlia_ means daughter and pardon me for stating the obvious, but I call you that because I am your father."

He paused as if he was waiting for this to sink in then spoke with a very blasé tone.

"Next question."

x HNL x

Malfoy Manor was empty except for the servants and two teenage boys: Blaise Zabini and Draco Malfoy.

One was lounging on the couch with his head behind his hands and the other was wearing a hole in the floor.

"If you don't stop your pacing Zabini, Mother may have your head for ruining her finest French rug."

Blaise paused for a moment to consider this before resuming his walk.

"Aunt Cissa loves me too much to kill me. She might kill you though, if you ruined her rug."

"She only loves you because she has yet to see the insufferable prat you really are." Draco said in a lazy tone. Blaise just shook his head and gave Draco a weak smile. Although many would bristle at the young Malfoy's words, Blaise knew he was just trying to get a reaction from his friend.

"Nice try Draco, but I'm still a bit preoccupied."

Draco sighed and cast a wary eye on the source of Blaise's worry.

An hour earlier, an owl had brought a letter addressed to Blaise. He had opened it carelessly, fully expecting it to be a letter from his mother saying she would be gone awhile on another shopping trip. Blaise was shocked, of course, when he instead found a letter from his father.

The letter was short and to the point which was one of the things that worried Blaise. Edmond Zabini was rather elaborate and his letters usually screamed of good breeding. A two sentence letter either indicated that he was mad at Blaise or something was wrong.

Blaise did not have an excellent relationship with his father; something that most of the Slytherins seemed to share. They only talked about once every two weeks, but somehow, Edmond always managed to make it not awkward. Blaise was thankful for that because unlike Draco, who had recently stopped caring what his father thought of him, he always longed for a close relationship with a parent.

A close relationship with his mother was out of the question since she found no need to get close to anyone unless they had a mysterious death coming their way. So, naturally Blaise migrated towards his father even if he hit a road block in their relationship once in awhile.

"He finally seemed to start liking me. Do you think he's going to disown me? "

Draco rolled his eyes. He had to stop this now before Blaise started to hyperventilate.

"Really Blaise, the letter has literally ten words. It's not normal to analyze it this much. In fact, only a-" Blaise cut him off.

"Don't say it."

"Ah, because you know I'm right?" Draco questioned with his ever present smirk.

"No, because I know you are a bloody git and you can shove your response up your-"

Blaise froze when a large silver eagle descended into the room. With a sigh, he started walking towards the fireplace before the bird even gave its message. As the emerald flames roared to life the Patronus spoke three words.

"_It is time."_

~TBC~_  
_

**A/N: Hmm, I'm not very happy with this chapter… oh well. So sorry for the long wait, but my computer had an awful virus and the Best Buy people weren't very fast with service. Anyways, I hope to have the next chapter out within a week or a week and a half at most. It shouldn't take that long, unless another evil virus comes my way. Until next time! xxxxxxx **

Translations:

_Mia figlia. – _My daughter.

_Non ti preoccupare; presto risolveremo quel problema – _Don'tworry; soon we will solve that problem.

If you actually speak Italian, I'm really sorry if I messed up the little Italian I had in this chapter. I don't think I did… think being the key word. =P


	3. A Joke, Right?

**A Joke, Right?**

This had to be a joke.

How had things changed so fast?

More importantly, why the hell was everything not slowing down?

_Time waits for no one. _

Leave it to the Slytherin to shock her further by making a brutally honest comment.

All voices in the head aside, Hermione had more important things to focus on. Such as, the unconcerned man seated opposite her. All she wanted to do was smack that look off his face, but found that she was weakened too much by all the overwhelming information she had received today.

So instead of seeing red like she had each time so far, Hermione's body simply went slack upon hearing the news. Her wand lay loosely in her hand and it was surprising that gravity had not claimed it as its latest victim. She fell onto the bed and tried to calm the swirling thoughts in her head.

_You can do this Hermione… don't freak out, you've done that enough… find out what's going on and then go from there… _

While Hermione calmed her raging emotions the man opposite her worked nearly as hard to keep his hidden. Although the Gryffindor girl only saw was an uncaring man, his insides were twisting with many conflicting emotions. After sixteen and a half years of searching and coming so close to finding his daughter she was now only three feet in front of him.

Really, he wanted nothing more than to envelop her in a hug, but he had a feeling that would not go over well. If she was anything like her mother she would give him a one way trip to St. Mungo's for even a pat on the back. He was not willing to take a chance on that since he could already see the resemblances between Cassandra and Hermione in their mannerisms and looks. Even after so long Edmond remembered with perfect clarity how Cassandra would scrunch her nose when something displeased her just as Hermione did when he first looked at her. He already knew from various people that Hermione was easily the brightest girl at Hogwarts and she probably could surpass many of the teachers as well. Obviously she had inherited her mother's intelligence.

Edmond forced himself to stop his inner musings. He was aware of a time limit that had been placed upon their meeting and had to keep things moving even if she did not react… cordially.

Making sure his mask of serenity was firmly in place he cleared his throat lightly to get the attention of the room's only other occupant.

Hermione flinched a bit at the sudden noise. She sat up to face her… father. The term even sounded odd in her head. She imagined it would sound a hundred times more awkward if she ever started saying it out loud.

"I…" she cleared her throat a little before continuing. Edmond contained the wince that threatened to escape him at the sight of her red-rimmed eyes. "I have many questions, but I doubt you will even want to answer all of them."

Edmond sighed at the note of accusation that he heard in her voice.

"Unfortunately we do not have enough time at the present moment to answer all of your questions. Make no mistake though; I do fully intend to answer them sometime in the near future."

Hermione wondered exactly how near that future was, but saw no need to waste some of their time on a question like that.

"Alright, let's start with something simple. What is your name?"

"I was born Edmondo Vidal Zabini, but I go by Edmond."

Hermione's jaw literally dropped. She opened and closed her mouth a few times soundlessly before speaking with skepticism lining her voice.

"You must be kidding. No, now I know this is a dream. I hit my head on the door frame and now I'm delusional. There is no way that I am related to Blaise Zabini."

"Blaise… is your half brother." Related to a Slytherin; surely this was every Gryffindor's dream.

"I suppose you never told him about me. If he knew he probably would not have looked at me like I was something nasty on the bottom of his shoe."

She sounded rather bitter about this. Edmond knew how Hermione was treated at school since he tried to find out everything he could about his daughter upon learning her name. The way her own brother treated her was deplorable at best and something would have to be done about this. Although, instead of reprimanding him about the past he might warn him to protect Hermione the upcoming school year. If, and most likely when, the students of Hogwarts found out their Gryffindor princess was related to Blaise things could become hostile.

Edmond may have been pondering her future after this news was released, but Hermione was more focused on his past. Sure she was related to the best friend of the Amazing Bouncing Ferret, but she would think about the consequences of that later. Now though, her mind had brought forth another interesting question concerning her- erm, Edmond.

"What house were you in at Hogwarts?" Hermione questioned quietly. She was nearly certain of the answer, but felt like asking anyways.

"Slytherin, but we all are not nearly as evil as the other Houses like to think, especially the _brave_ Gryffindors. I, like several other Slytherins, was sorted into that house because I am quite intelligent, cunning when necessary, and will stop at nothing to achieve my goals. Even if those goals require doing some things of questionable legality. The majority of us were never interested in ridding the world of Muggleborns and making all the muggles bow down before us. I, for one, was happy when Voldemort was finally destroyed." Edmond inclined his head slightly towards Hermione. The world was finally rid of Voldemort after the efforts of her, Harry, and Ron. Most of the Wizarding world was still in shock that a sixteen-year-old boy was able to defeat such a powerful yet evil wizard. "He was nothing more than a crazed half-blood with a penchant for blood." Edmond finished with a gleam of hate in his eyes.

Hermione considered his view of Slytherin House. Unlike Harry and Ron, Hermione did not believe that all Slytherins were horrible, evil idiots. True, there were Slytherins of questionable sanity whose only thoughts consisted of "die Mudbloods die", but Hermione felt it was unfair to group them all in that category. Though they are not all devil incarnates, there was still no denying that the students of the Slytherin House will forever be sneaky little bastards.

"What House was my mother in?" Hermione asked without even a slight tremor in her voice. She felt awkward still, about her mother, but something was developing in her. Before, all Hermione felt about Cassandra was curiosity, now though she was saddened by the loss of someone she never knew. Of course though, she fought to control the increasing feelings in her lest they show on her face. Whether or not Slytherins were devil incarnates, they were still not known for their overwhelming compassion.

_I think I can understand how Harry feels now. _

"Ah, although I think that woman would have made an excellent Slytherin, for Cassandra, _wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure_."

"Ravenclaw?

Edmond nodded.

"She was easily the brightest witch of her day. By earning some of the highest scores on her OWLs and NEWTs that Hogwarts has ever seen, she surpassed the smartest Ravenclaws. I was glad of it. Those Ravenclaws were a stuck up lot who either had their nose buried in a book or high in the air. Rumor is though, that you are the first student in years within her league." Edmond said with a tinge of pride evident in his voice. It was slight, but still there.

"The Sorting Hat did almost put me in Ravenclaw…"

"I suppose it saw a bit too much recklessness in you to cement a place there."

Hermione merely gave him a glare at this statement, although, it lacked the heat of her previous ones.

"Let's move on." Hermione said forcefully."Why exactly could you not find me all these years?"

"Your mother had a number of enchantments on you that kept you well hidden. I still am not certain what spells she used although I have a feeling that they were modified by her. I have spent all of nearly sixteen years searching for you and every time I thought I was near I hit a roadblock. Honestly, I had all but given up a month ago when something miraculous happened.

A small girl with bushy brown hair walked past me in Flourish & Blotts. She headed towards the counter to purchase her books and I moved to stand behind her. That was it though, I could not move a muscle. At first I assumed some fool had cursed me while my back was turned, but when you turned around to leave I thought otherwise. You see Hermione, although your mother changed your eyes, lips and hair… I could still sense there was something special about you. That I was freed of my invisible bonds as soon as you stepped out the door could not have been a mere coincidence either.

So as soon as I was freed I followed you. I assume you had apparated or ducked into a store for you were not present in all of Diagon Alley. Immediately, I left and went home to research this new development. What I found was enough to convince me there was more to Hermione Granger than everyone thought."

"What do you mean?" _Maybe he means the fact that you possess some very Slytherin traits for a bloody Gryffindor. You should consider having that tattered hat plopped on your head again. Green and silver would be very flattering on you._

Seems the Slytherin had increased the snarky comments.

"I found that your documentation did not quite add up and by doing a little digging found the truth. With a few potions and spells I made it possible to be near you and the rest was done for me. Cassandra had enough decency to have the spells wear off once I found you and figured everything out. Not that it was an easy task." He continued more to himself than Hermione "Probably thought I would not be able to solve her cryptic little message."

Hermione was about to ask him more about her mother and the message he had just mentioned when she was interrupted by a loud-

CRACK

A house elf in a clean, pressed dress appeared next to Edmond.

"You do realize this is my room, correct?" Hermione muttered. Edmond ignored her.

"Sir, you told Faery to tell you if you had been gone for more than an hour and it has been an hour and one minute." The little house elf gave a respectful curtsy after she delivered her message and then stood with a straight back waiting for her master's words.

Hermione was rather shocked by the appearance of the creature. She was so well dressed and respect shone in her eyes when looking at Edmond, not the fear Hermione was used to seeing in defenseless house elves. A spark of admiration flared in Hermione for Edmond. Anyone who could treat house elves with the courtesy the rest of the Wizarding world denied them was considered decent in her book.

"Thank you Faery, I will arrive at the Manor shortly. Could you prepare the den for me and my children?"

"Yes Master." With that, the house elf known as Faery apparated away. Hermione turned towards Edmond with several things running through her mind.

"Faery? Really?" Edmond gave a small smile at this.

"I found it amusing, although the fairies in the garden were rather peeved at first. Vain creatures fairies." Hermione resisted the urge to snort at this. True, they were vain, but fairies could be quite devious if they wanted to.

"She seems to be treated well." The attempt at casual Hermione gave did not fool Edmond. He answered with the same small smile he had given her before.

"I know of S.P.E.W Hermione, but perhaps we should discuss it another day. As you may have heard I told Faery to arrange the room for my children: both of them."

The meaning of this had escaped Hermione since her attention was focused on the house elf. A meeting between his children… oh no.

"Blaise. I have to attend tea with Blaise Zabini." She only received a frown at the dismal tone she had taken. Before Edmond could remind her that she too was a Zabini, Hermione voiced her other concern.

"How do I know I can trust you? I mean this could be some elaborate scheme to get me defenseless and easily kidnap me."

"Just trust me, but if that is not enough take a look at the back of your left shoulder. Join me when you are ready; it is time to meet your brother."

"Sadly, I have already met him."

Her comment was once again ignored. Instead, Edmond inclined his head towards Hermione and turned around to face the fireplace. He took a handful of the green sparkling powder and threw it into the flames.

"Zabini Manor."

As her father disappeared into the flames Hermione lifted her collar to the side to peek at the back of her shoulder. She gasped when she saw an ornate Z that had definitely not been there before. Hermione angrily grabbed some floo powder and followed the most puzzling man she had ever met.

~TBC~

**A/N: I have decided to never tell you when to except a new chapter because I just fail immensely when I say that. It's like I have some button in me that goes off as the day approaches saying DO NOT WRITE even if I have ideas. Damn that button. Not to mention my sporadic moments of idiocy that harm my laptop. If you read my last A/N then you know how I said my update length was only because of my laptop getting an awful virus? Yeah, well I think I cursed myself because not an hour after I typed that my laptop was dropped. Some guy walking behind me on the street ran into me and the screen broke when it hit the pavement. Should I have knocked on wood after typing that note last chapter or something? Right now I'm on a friend's computer so no clue when the next chapter will be out. We finally get the Zabini and Hermione meeting next time! This whole chapter was just so you could know a bit more about Edmond. Oh, how I love him and my little Slytherin. Hmm, maybe I just love aspects that were of my own creation.**

**Thank you again for any reviews, alerts and favorites. **

**At last****, the end of this epically long author's note. Arrivederci! xxxxxxx**


	4. Blaise

**Blaise**

For a moment, Hermione was overwhelmed by the blurring green flames and the sudden bout of nausea that came with them. Would she ever be able to travel by Floo without feeling like her stomach was trying to empty itself?

She slid, somewhat gracefully, into the room and thanked whatever god was watching that she did not land flat on her face like the last time. While her stomach was settling from the carnival ride that was the Floo system, Hermione took a moment to investigate her surroundings.

The room was, surprisingly, decorated tastefully and not just stuffed with expensive items meant to intimidate. Frankly, Hermione fully expected the over the top items since they would support the pureblood manner that existed in her head. She was now coming to grasps that there was more to a pureblood than being intolerable and prejudiced. It would take longer though to abandon her own prejudice. After all, over years of her Hogwarts career, the Slytherins gave her plenty of nasty incidents to associate with the pureblooded wizards, especially the self proclaimed prince of Slytherin: Draco Malfoy.

_You do realize that not all purebloods are Slytherin and vice-versa, correct? What about your dear friends, the Weasley tribe- er family? The Longbottom boy? Sirius Black? Really, find a more stable group to base your conclusion upon, since clearly, deciding that all purebloods equate evil goes against some of your other views._

Oh, shut up. Your logic is flawed.

_Well, yours is hypocritical. Need I remind you of another pureblood you actually like? Yourself, possibly Ms. Zabini?_

Go to hell.

_Although, you do have some buried self-esteem issues, but you like yourself well enough..._

Hermione determinedly ignored the voice in her head, as she should have done from the start. She was no longer concerned with the decorations of the room and the only thought that registered in her mind was that it was a nice, calming shade of blue. All she was concerned about now was the whereabouts of Edmond.

_He invites me to his home and then he does not even bother to wait for me. I'm sure I only arrived a minute after him._

She was, however, a bit wary of traipsing around a stranger's house so she instead settled for pacing a short line in front of the fireplace. Hermione did not have long to wait for moments after she started her walk Edmond came into the room.

"There you are." He said with an expression of polite interest molded onto his face "Faery has the tea set up in the garden, just in case there is a shouting match. The Manor has excellent acoustics and we wouldn't want the noise bouncing around in the room. If you would follow me."

Without pausing for Hermione to register what he said, Edmond started walking at a brisk pace out of the room. Hermione scrambled to follow him even though she felt like a faithful dog trailing behind its master.

"You know," she said while following Edmond through the odd turns of the Manor "most people would consider it rude to abandon a guest after inviting them to tea." Edmond's lips twisted into the slightest of smiles upon hearing the word "guest".

"Please accept my most sincere apologies for leaving you alone in a room for five minutes, but I had a message to send to your brother." Did he have to remind her of the relation between Blaise and herself at every turn?

"So I take it he will be arriving soon? What, do I have five minutes to prepare myself?" Once again, there was a slight twitch of his lip before Edmond spoke.

"Sorry _figlia, _but you have until we arrive at the garden to prepare yourself. I do hope that won't take you very long."

Hermione nearly tripped over her own feet. Of course she knew this was coming, but a small part of her brain was currently in full frontal denial mode. Needless to say she did not take the news very well.

"What?! How is that possible? You've only just told him about it!" All the doors in Hermione's brain that contained important information about Wizarding communication and transportation snapped shut.

"Technically I sent him a letter right before our previous conversation and then sent my Patronus with a message when I arrived home. Whatever you have to say about Blaise it cannot be denied that he is a prompt boy. He arrived by Floo via his room here about the same time you did. Now, I was forced to decide whether it would be best to have you sitting and Blaise walk up to the table or the reverse. Either way the only surprised party in this is your brother so I figured we can allow Blaise about ten seconds of confused conclusions as we walk up to him. Sound alright?"

The question was very clearly not a question at all and Hermione was tempted to voice just how the plan was not alright. It would take ten whole seconds to walk to Blaise. Ten seconds in which her legs could give out beneath her. She would be lucky if Blaise did not take it upon himself to do so with a Jelly-Legs Jinx.

Edmond looked at her and inclined his head in the direction they were heading. He started walking without warning and it took Hermione a few seconds to register that fact. Hermione blew a loose hair out of her face and followed him to her... _brother_…ugh.

x HNL x

The aforementioned brother was waiting not so patiently in the garden. He was still trying to figure out the whys and whats of his current situation, but was coming up with very little.

After arriving at the Manor, he was instantly greeted by Edmond. Once they had gone through the general pleasantries that were expected of purebloods, Edmond had Faery escort him to the garden. Edmond failed to mention the only things that Blaise did care about, so he was once again left pondering the unexpected invitation. The fact that he had already analyzed the spacing of the sentences in Edmond's letter did not go unnoticed by Blaise. However, he refused to admit he was acting like a girl as Malfoy had reminded him several times throughout the day.

At the sound of approaching footsteps, Blaise sat up and patted his hair down nervously.

Maybe he was acting like a girl.

With less hair patting than before, Blaise still watched the path coming from the house anxiously. Any sign of stress was gone from his face when his father was about twenty steps away from him. He was so focused on the calm faced man in front of him that he missed the girl following a step behind him.

This was probably for the best since it was evident already that Blaise had an issue with over analyzing.

He stood up as Edmond approached the table and inclined his head towards the other man.

"Father." _Short, bordering on polite, yet with a distinct cool tone: Mother would be proud._ Blaise thought wryly.

"Afternoon Blaise." Blaise concealed a frown at his tone. While he had seemed distant a mere five minutes and 46 seconds ago (Yes, he did count.), now he seemed warm and chipper. Chipper… what a strange word to describe his usually enigmatic father. Yet, he was still a mystery as always. "Please sit." Blaise did and tried to shrug off the feeling they were not alone.

"I meant you as well Hermione."

Apparently they were not alone.

Blaise looked past his father for the first time and saw the small_… blonde? Since when was Granger blonde? And why was she glaring at Edmond like he had killed her cat?_

Actually, the most pressing issue was her presence to begin with. There was no explanation that allowed for her to be here and judging by her expression she really did not want to be there at all.

Blaise watched as Hermione stiffly sat in the chair opposite him. Hermione watched the tea pot and appeared to be attempting to burst it into flame. His father sat down next to her and turned his head from one of his children to another. Edmond had somewhat of a sad smile on his face as he observed them, yet he began the soon to be awkward conversation quickly.

"Blaise, Hermione I believe you know each other."

"Unfortunately." Hermione muttered. Edmond pursed his lips and continued.

"I brought you here because of a conversation the three of us must have before your return to school. I am fully aware of the…tenuous relationship that exists between your two groups, but I ask that you attempt to push that aside whilst you are here. It is important that you have a somewhat good relationship before returning to Hogwarts as things will be harder than usual whether or not you decide to be friendly."

Hermione had stopped glaring and now looked at Edmond with resignation in her eyes. As much as she hated to admit it, eventually Blaise and herself would eventually need to come to a truce of sorts. Although, judging by their pasts, it would be awhile yet before they would have one.

"Blaise, I believe you are currently more in the dark about our current situation than Hermione and myself. This is hard to say, but it is for the best to tell you outright. You might be a bit shocked-"

Hermione snorted not too daintily and spoke with sarcastic curiosity.

"Why was I not given a disclaimer?" Edmond looked at her with a small smirk.

"Would one have really helped?"

"No, merely curious about your word choice."

Blaise watched this with a raised eyebrow. Apparently his father and Granger had a conversation prior to this one. Something about that fact gave Blaise a sense of unease. Later, he would think that he should have been warned by this, but at the time it seemed rather inconsequential.

"As I was saying," Edmond continued "You may be shocked and unconvinced, but trust that everything I am telling you is the truth." A brief sigh and… "Hermione is my daughter and your half sister."

Silence.

"Excuse me?" Blaise managed to get out although his stomach was twisting in an unpleasant manner that made him want to vomit. If it was true, then yet another person had lied to Blaise all his life; was there no one a Slytherin could trust?

"I am not lying Blaise and I regret not being able to tell both of you sooner, but I was not completely sure of this until recently."

Blaise slumped back into his chair forgetting all the manners that were carefully drilled into him and gaped at his father. Hermione was partially worried about his further reaction, but mostly amused as she had never seen Blaise act so freely. She had certainly never seen him act so bewildered.

"My sister." He mumbled "Is that even possible? Has she not been living with Muggles all this time? Did they know?"

_He might try using inner dialogue sometime._

For his part Edmond did seem a bit amused, but was trying to keep a straight face for Blaise. Somehow, he doubted he would like to be laughed at.

"How? Just…how?" Blaise asked, no longer mumbling. Edmond appeared thoughtful for a moment before answering.

"Even I do not know all of the details at this point, but I know enough. With that said, merely answering "how" is rather difficult."

Blaise stared at Edmond blankly before speaking in a monotone.

"Try to."

"If I were to over simplify matters I could say that I was in a relationship with Hermione's biological mother, but something bad happened causing her to run away from me and have Hermione in secret. Her mother, Cassandra, made it nearly impossible to find Hermione so it was not until recently I had the good fortune of discovering her. That, in a nutshell, is the majority of what I now know and all that you can know at the time."

"What do you mean all I can know? Is that what you told her as well?" He jerked his thumb towards the "her" in question.

"I told Hermione what she needed to know and I have told you what you need to know, nothing else is important right now. I don't wish to discuss this any further Blaise." Edmond's tone was warning, but Blaise ignored it.

"Of course it is bloody important! Do you realize how much this changes things?! My sister is a fucking Gryffindor who my whole House so happens to hate! You act as if this doesn't complicate things." Blaise finished with quiet loathing lacing his voice.

"I never said it was not complicated," Edmond hissed "but you would do well to remember to whom you are speaking." He stood up and gave each of his children harsh gazes. "I realize that you both are in possession of old prejudice, but you must work past that. When you return to school, everyone will know of your relation. Many will be skeptical of the truth, and those who believe may not trust that either of you did not know about this until recently. It is up to you if you want to face this together, or be divided by hate and go it alone."

Hermione eyed Blaise warily as he opened his mouth to speak again. Fortunately, he used a calmer tone this time.

"Why will everyone know? Do we have to announce it to the world?"

"You both know who Rita Skeeter is, correct?" Hermione and Blaise nodded "I thought so. Now while she is no longer a feature writer for the Daily Prophet, her stories are possibly more vicious than ever before. No matter what, she will eventually discover that Hermione is my daughter. I would much rather have the story come out of my own volition with a trusted journalist than have her "break the news" and launch more speculation than necessary. Besides, a huge article is not needed. I think it would be best to give a statement shortly before your return to Hogwarts. I'd prefer if we all had privacy this summer."

"What makes you think she won't be able to eavesdrop like she always has and find out before your announcement?" Hermione asked skeptically. Blaise snorted at this and spoke to her a bit too condescendingly for her liking.

"Really Granger, do you not think there are protective spells on this Estate? They are mostly for privacy, but the spells could rival that of Hogwarts."

Hermione pursed her lips. "It was not that difficult for Skeeter to get onto Hogwarts grounds as I am sure you know Blaise." She said with a note of accusation in her voice. Although she was nearly certain Blaise had never directly given Skeeter information, he had stood by and allowed the rest of the Slytherins to spread the lies. "Do you have any spells against illegal Animagi?"

Blaise scowled, but Edmond only seemed interested.

"Am I to understand that Rita Skeeter is an Animagus?" Edmond's question was answered with a nod from Hermione. She appeared to be smug about the information.

"Interesting, but as the wards here are different from those of Hogwarts you don't need to worry about her unwelcome presence anytime soon."

Hermione sat back in her chair some, but was obviously not entirely pleased with the assurance.

"Are we going to tell anyone before then?" She asked.

"I have no one who cannot wait until the announcement, but I suppose you both want to tell someone. It would be in your best interest to cast a simple spell to prevent them from sharing the story with anyone else. Understand? Now, who do you think should know about this before the announcement?"

x HNL x

Draco dropped the book he was reading when the fireplace roared to life and out came Blaise Zabini. He looked quite flustered yet he somehow managed to collapse onto the seat opposite Draco.

"I have something important to tell you."

x HNL x

The Burrow was relatively quiet, well as quiet as it gets anyways, until an owl burst into the room where Ron and Harry where playing chess. It dropped the letter right on top of their game and then sat on the back of a chair waiting for their responding letter. Harry grabbed the letter and read it out loud.

_Harry and Ron,_

_I need to talk with the two of you as soon as possible. Could you meet with me at the Muggle village near the Burrow? If the owl does not return to me I am going to assume you said yes. I will already be there once you read this._

_Hope your holiday is going well,_

_Hermione_

~TBC~_  
_

**This time I am not going to offer my most sincere apologies as Edmond said, for the long wait since I'm sure most of you know I'm sorry anyways. If it helps this is the longest chapter I have written yet. I got a bit wordy with this one, but being wordy is fun. Since I was not here for the 1st, happy one month and a week into the new year! How many people told you that today? xxxxxxx **


	5. When It All Changes

When It All Changes

"Really Blaise, stop being a mute and tell me just what is so important. What did your father tell you?"

After Blaise had emerged from the green flames, the two boys had been sitting in silence. Draco was growing increasingly impatient every minute because of this unexpected behavior. Usually, when Blaise came back from a visit with his father, a stampede of wild hippogriffs could not stop him from recounting his story.

"I have a sister." Blaise muttered to the floor, not really paying any attention to the only other occupant of the room. Draco however was more focused on Blaise than before.

"A … a what?!" Blaise looked up with a scowl on his face.

"Surely you know what a sister is Draco. When Mummy and Daddy have another child of the female persuasion? Yes?" Draco waved away his sarcasm and gestured for Blaise to continue.

"Oh shut up and tell me about her." Blaise scoffed at this. Draco had talked to Hermione more than he had over the years. Granted, the two had been trading insults, but they were still words.

"How can I? I don't know her myself." _And I don't particularly want to know her. _He thought grimly of the forthcoming days of time together in his mind.

"Well what's her name? How old is she?" Draco asked. He seemed incredibly intrigued with this news. Naturally, his mother had raised him with gossip, but Blaise never knew he had such an interest in the drama that went along with being a pureblood.

"She is roughly our age, I haven't the slightest idea when she was born, and I do not believe you want to know her name." He listed off each of these things and watched Draco roll his eyes at the latter part of his statement.

"Well of course I want to know her name and our age you say? Does your mother know about this as well?"

"No, no she's my half sister." Blaise sighed and ran a hand through his hair "You cannot tell anyone who she is Draco, anyone at all. Father will make an official announcement within the coming months, but we would rather not have vultures like Skeeter descend upon us sooner than is necessary." Draco let out a small huff and narrowed his eyes at Blaise.

"Stop stalling and tell me who she is Blaise. My patience is waning." His tone was clipped and Blaise was sure that he was about to throw a tantrum if he did not find out the girl's name. Malfoy had a notoriously short temper. Blaise had witnessed it far too many times for his liking and did not feel like seeing it again today. He watched Draco carefully as he said,

"My si- sister is Hermione Granger." Draco sneered at the mere mention of one of his Gryffindor enemies.

"Funny, now tell me her real name." He said with a slight bit of venom lacing his voice.

"I'm not lying to you Draco. I didn't believe the news at first either." Blaise said with a slight shake of his head. Could he really expect Draco to welcome this news with open arms?

"How is that even possible? All these years and you are just now finding out?" The disbelief in his tone was obvious.

"Drop the skepticism," Blaise said sternly "it is most definitely true. The sooner you accept that the better."

"Accept it? Why should I so much as entertain the fact that you are related to _her_?" Draco sneered.

"My father has asked for Granger and I to get along somewhat. It will not help if you are right behind me cursing her under your breath or mocking her openly. You don't necessarily have to like this, but do try and get over your childish hatred of her."

Blaise knew that Draco's hate of Granger stemmed closer nowadays from her personality and constant one upping of him than what they _thought_ her parentage was. He could only imagine what happened when Draco joined the Light and had to work in close proximity to the Golden Trio he so abhorred. Draco just grimaced whenever he was asked about the Order's treatment of him. Needless to say it wasn't a popular topic for conversation.

"And you? Do you like this?" Draco asked after a pause.

"Not particularly, but I am trying to get over my childish hatred as well. It may take awhile with her personality." He mumbled.

Draco sighed and collapsed into his chair.

How the hell were they going to deal with this?

x HNL x

Hermione stood at the path leading into the village. She was scanning the area for Ron and Harry. Even if she did give them the option to get out of their meeting, they would come. Sure enough, minutes after they would have received the letter, Ron and Harry came trudging up the path. They smiled when they saw her and sped up to close the distance between them.

"Hey Hermione! To what do we owe this pleasant surprise? Aren't you supposed to be vacationing with your parents?" Harry asked after Hermione had received a hug from both boys. She gave them both a somewhat strained smile and gestured for them to follow her. The two boys followed Hermione down a side path as she answered.

"Our plans changed somewhat. I don't think I'll be vacationing with them any time soon." Harry and Ron shared a confused look.

"Hermione… is something wrong?" Harry questioned. Ron's eyes widened and he looked at Hermione with confusion written all over his face. It seemed to be a common emotion for Ron.

"Did you charm your hair? And your eyes as well?" Harry's eyes flew to her hair after Ron's question. He too had a bewildered look on his face now. Hermione was nearly certain they were remembering all the times she had refused to even semi-permanently use magic to change her appearance since their fourth year. After using all that Sleekeazys potion, Lavender and Parvati had reinforced their efforts to make Hermione a regular user of beauty charms. She had never backed down though and had shoved away every copy of Witch Weekly (101 Charms for the Average Witch!...Make Him Notice You Without Love Potion!... Change Your Complexion from Ghostly to Glowing!) they had shown her.

_How unobservant can they be? A monkey would notice the differences in your appearance faster than them._

They aren't stupid, they're my friends.

_Yes, well we'll see how long that lasts…_

"No I didn't, but that is part of what I want to tell you." Hermione said. Her voice was too calm and that alone made Harry and Ron wary. When she sensed an outburst coming from either of them Hermione would always attempt to cool them down beforehand by using calm measured tones.

However, Hermione was just trying to calm herself down while simultaneously trying to decide how best to break this news to them. No matter what, Harry and Ron would not actually _like _what she was about to share with them, but they might not react badly.

Or so she hoped.

"I am adopted and I just found out yesterday." She blurted out. Not exactly the smooth delivery she had planned, but at least a third of the band aid was peeled off. She intended to rip off the rest of it, but was interrupted by her friends before she had the chance.

"You're joking." Ron said. His mouth hung open slightly as he tried to figure out how that was remotely possible. Harry though, looked troubled. He looked at Hermione with his eyebrows furrowed and his mouth in a thin line.

"You're sure about this…?" Harry asked. He certainly sounded unsure.

"What, you think I was lied to?" Hermione asked. Harry shifted uncomfortably under her gaze.

"It's just… don't you think someone could come up with this story, curse your parents, and then use it all to get you unprotected?" Hermione was shocked at his thinking. She of course had entertained the thought that some outside force was behind her parents' sudden confession in a way more sinister than it turned out to be. However, she had dismissed that idea when she thought of the many wards she had placed upon the Granger home that would alert her not only to the presence of a wizard, but also of any residual magic left upon the house or its occupants. Wait… that meant… that damn Zabini had taken down her wards! He said he had gone to visit her parents, but, even if his entry was a peaceful one through the front door she still would have known. Or rather, she still _should_ have known.

All she could do was be annoyed and make sure the wards were intact the next time she was there. Whatever odd and awkward relationship she had entered into with the Grangers, the fact still remained that they were the only parents she had known for so long and she simply would not forget about them.

Hermione shook her head with a slight frown on her face.

"No Harry, I'm sure my parents were not cursed. You know I have wards up to prevent that." She would leave out the fact that her wards had been taken down, even if it was temporary. Harry seemed troubled by this.

"Well? Have you met your real parents or were you just told that you're adopted?" He inquired.

"I have met my father." She said slowly.

"And?" Harry prompted. Ron chose that moment to pipe in with his own question. "What about your mother?" Hermione seemed reluctant to tell them the very things that may turn the conversation into a screaming match.

"My mother is dead and my father is a wizard. Turns out I'm a pureblood so all those years of mockery from the Slytherins seem quite ironic now." She knew she was rambling, but somehow, the idea of telling her two best friends she was related to Draco Malfoy's best (and probably only) friend was not an attractive one.

_So have you finally developed a sense of self preservation that you Gryffindors seem to lack?_

"He's a wizard? What's his name? Anyone we would know?" And like she had just been force fed a vial of Veritaserum Hermione said,

"His name is Edmondo Zabini." Hermione strongly resisted the urge to cover her mouth after saying that. That was the third time she had said something she hadn't meant to say within the same conversation. She really needed to get this sudden bout of word vomit under control.

_I think that's a no to the self preservation. _The mutinous little Slytherin whispered.

"Zabini?! As in Blaise Zabini, the mute Slytherin?!" Harry choked out. Ron however, just appeared to be choking. Where he had gotten food from was a mystery to Hermione.

"Erm, yes... he's my half-brother." Hermione mumbled. At least neither of them had started to scream. Though, that was probably because they were currently in a state of shock.

Once she finished talking, silence fell upon the trio. Hermione was reluctant to break it and her friends seemed to have lost the ability to talk. After what felt like an eternity, Harry spoke up.

"What are you going to do?" He said.

"What do you mean?" She responded carefully. Hermione could almost see where his train of thought was going.

"You can't seriously be thinking of meeting with him? I mean think of who they are Hermione! Blaise is Malfoy's friend, if you can even call him that. They're probably more like allies than anything." He muttered the latter part to himself. "Hermione, Blaise is a Slytherin and I'm sure his father is the same. Do you really want to get mixed up with them?"

"Get mixed up with them?" She said with disbelief."Harry, you just fought a war against prejudice- how can you even say that?"

"They're Slytherins! Have you ever heard of a kind Slytherin with only good intentions? They'll probably try to drag you into the Dark arts."

"What has gotten into you? Have you forgotten that Draco fought with the Light not only through the war, but also alongside us during the final battle? Not to mention the fact that the Zabinis were neutral during the war and never gave so much as a knut to Voldemort's cause!" By this point Hermione was yelling. Somewhere deep inside she was beating herself up for defending people she hardly knew. The little that she did know about the three Slytherins in question was none too favorable, but she knew they weren't the evil with which Harry wanted to associate them.

"Hermione," Ron spoke softly. He sounded like he was trying to explain something simple to a two-year-old. "That ferret only fought on our side to save his own ass. He knew Voldemort wasn't going to win. As for the Zabinis, we can't _really_ know if they gave any money to Voldemort, but it's likely they did the slimy gits."

Hermione's shoulders drooped.

_So this is it, _Hermione thought_ this is when it all falls apart. _

"I can't agree with that you two. I- I should go now, I have a meeting with someone." She said with some unidentifiable emotion in her voice.

"Hermione don't go!" Ron pleaded. "We can think of something to do about this problem."

"It's not a problem Ron. Excuse me, I have to go see my father."

"You can't be-" Before Ron could finish, Hermione apparated away with the small blue room in Zabini Manor going through her head.

x HNL x

"Hello _figlia, _did your meeting with your friends go well?"

Edmond just happened to be waiting in the very room Hermione had in mind.

Lucky her.

She ignored his question with a roll of her eyes. As if it wasn't obvious from her demeanor that their meeting had ended less than cordially.

"Well enough." She said shortly. Edmond sighed at her statement and rubbed his temple.

"You did remember to place a spell upon them so the idiots can't blab to the entirety of the Weasleys, yes?" Edmond had not said that. Hermione turned around to face the fireplace and saw her lovely half-brother standing a few feet away from her. He looked like he wished to be anywhere but his current location. She would say the feeling was mutual, but Hermione was running out of places she could be without incessant questions or an awkward silence.

"Hello Blaise." She said with forced politeness.

"Granger." He replied as he stepped further into the room to stand next to his father.

"Ah, about that," Edmond interrupted. He pushed himself out of his chair and went to stand next Hermione. He appeared to be quite happy about whatever he was about to tell her. "Wizarding laws, as I'm sure you know, are not like those of the Muggle world. There are certain laws in place that make it necessary for the children of two married parents to have the father's surname. Although your mother is no longer with us, we were married before her death which means you _figlia,_ now that I've finally found you, are Hermione Jean Zabini." His statement was met with silence, although, Blaise may have muttered a quiet "Great".

"Excellent, I lose more of who I really am at least once a day." Hermione said bitterly.

"_Mia cara,_ this is who you really are. You truly are a Zabini. As for losing more of your old physical appearance, I do believe that change is finished. I doubt your mother would change your physical appearance completely. Besides making it easier for me to find you, I don't think she could stand the thought of changing her only child so much that it would be like you two had no connection at all. Since you look so like her even before the enchantments wore off, it seems as if she was successful."

_You haven't changed. Stop trying to be like your idiotic friends who obviously have sticks up their asses. Just because you are around Slytherins doesn't mean they are going to poison your goody two shoe ways. _

"I suppose I can deal with that." Hermione admitted reluctantly. She was not thrilled with the idea, but she also knew there was no way of changing a law like that. It wasn't hurting anyone or anything- well besides the independence of a few people. Wizarding laws were deep seated in tradition, and the purebloods of the Wizarding world were even more so. If that law did not exist, she expected the purebloods would have some variation of it for themselves. It could be worse.

"Marvelous!" He exclaimed with the biggest smile Hermione had ever seen on his face. Granted, it was only a smidge larger than a slight smile, but still, it was larger. "Now, why don't you and Blaise go talk and work past that hostility you both still possess."

Hermione looked around Edmond to see Blaise glaring at his father.

Oh, this was going to be fun.

x HNL x

**TA DAH! I have fortunately already started the next chapter so I can only hope it comes out sooner than this one. To give you an idea, I'm about 1,200 words in and it all flowed out much easier than it usually does. Thank you all for your patience. I know I'm not one of those amazing authors who write around 25 pages per chapter and take a month to post; at least they have an excuse. Whether or not they have an excuse, I absolutely love those authors. I think practically my entire favorite list is comprised of them. Anyways, enough of my rambling, goodbye to all of you! I'm off to Pigfarts!**


	6. A Conversation in the Garden

A Conversation in the Garden

Blaise and Hermione had been sitting in the garden for about half an hour and neither had spoken a single word. They were currently busying themselves by looking anywhere but at each other. Suffice to say, Hermione found their "bonding" awkward. She felt as if they were two five-year-olds who had been pushed together by their parents to play together. Actually, the five-year-olds would probably not be so judgmental and would just play whether their playmate was from a different House or not.

She certainly was not a child anymore, although still barely one in the eyes of the law. That is until Edmond changed her papers at the end of their holiday. She had been told her real birthday was the 19th of June 1980 instead of the 19th of September. Not that it mattered if she was nearly a year younger than she had thought. Hermione doubted anyone who had experienced the effects of the recently ended war could still be considered a child. It was sad how it had aged them all. Harry was only fourteen when the pressure of defeating Voldemort had been put on his shoulders. Then, just two years later, he had defeated Voldemort with the help of Ron and Hermione. Most of the Wizarding world was still reeling that a teenage wizard had defeated the most powerful Dark Wizard of all time. Or at least the Dark Wizard who had caused the most damage; many argued that Grindelwald was actually the more powerful one. Regardless, Voldemort had caused a hell of a lot of damage and had forced much of Britain's young wizards and witches to mature faster than any child should.

Hermione had taken to tapping her finger in a nonsensical beat against the table. Blaise snapped at her a mere minute after she began the annoying sound.

"Could you stop that?!"

"Sorry." She mumbled. Now that the silence had been broken, even if it wasn't by conversation, Hermione felt the need to continue speaking. "Blaise, this is ridiculous, we have to say something. Do you want to spend the summer like this? You know Edmond is going to keep forcing us into these impromptu meetings." Hermione said.

"I wasn't aware we were on a first name basis." Blaise said in that carefully controlled tone of his. Hermione resisted the urge to roll her eyes at this.

"Considering the fact that we both have the same last name now, I thought it would be ridiculous to call each other by Zabini." Blaise looked like he was going to be sick at the idea of this.

"Really! What is so utterly repulsing about me that you can't stand to say a single civil word!? I'm not exactly thrilled that I'm a Zabini either!" Hermione exclaimed.

Blaise appeared slightly uncomfortable at her question like he could not think of a good enough reason.

"It's just you're…" He trailed off into silence. What was he supposed to say? Too Gryffindorish? That wasn't even a word and he was not about to say it in front of the bookworm of Gryffindor. Slytherins had standards of intelligence to live up to, for the most part. Crabbe and Goyle were already too lost to care how intelligent they came across as.

"I'm…?" Hermione prompted. Blaise however, remained tight lipped. Hermione sighed at his reluctance to talk.

"Look, I realize that neither of us actually enjoy the other's company right now, but at least try to think of something to say: anything really." At his continued silence she went on. "Then I'll start." She said with determination in her voice.

"Alright, something we both would like to talk about… Quidditch?" Blaise raised an eyebrow. He did not enjoy Quidditch as much as the fanatics, but he would bet the entirety of his Gringott's vault that Hermione cared for it even less than him. "Okay, I don't really want to talk about that, but at least I'm trying." She did not really try after that though. Blaise felt like sighing and waited through a minute of what was becoming oppressive silence until he spoke.

"I feel like the Ministry is doing an awful job with the rebuilding efforts." He said casually. The new topic worked and Hermione instantly perked up to reply.

"They're trying their hardest though! Voldemort decimated not only Wizarding Britain, but also the Muggle world. The Ministry is trying to help the muggles, help the magical community and help round up any remaining Death Eaters all at once. I suppose that is a bit foolish since they are-" Blaise interrupted her.

"Spreading themselves too thin?" Hermione nodded and he scoffed at this. "Not really. So what if they're doing all three of those things at once? They _should_ be able to do that. Is that not the point of the many different departments of the Ministry?"

"True, frankly though, there aren't as many people left working at the Ministry anymore. They were either killed during the War, fled to a safer place and have yet to return, or were injured so badly that they are incapable of having a job like that. People from less important sectors are moving into positions that need to be filled. Mr. Weasley used to be the head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts department and then Head of a department created by Scrimgeour to find counterfeit items, but now he's helping with the rebuilding effort."

"The Ministry is putting the wrong departments behind each of those endeavors. Instead of having the Aurors round up the Death Eaters they have some of them traipsing through Muggle England casually fixing problems they come across. Don't you find the government we have now rather misguided?"

"The Minister does seem to be a bit of a duffer." Hermione reluctantly agreed.

Instead of one of the more obvious choices for Minister after Thicknesse had been removed, they chose some obscure Head of a department, Terrence Hessley, possibly in the hopes that he wouldn't be too big of a loss if one of the few loose Death Eaters decided his death was imminent. At least that was the only reason Hermione could think of for putting such an incompetent man as Hessley in charge now of all times.

"I've heard if this continues for much longer, those in higher positions are considering someone like Kingsley Shacklebolt as Minister. Hessley's probably starting to sweat a bit if he cares much for his current position." Blaise said.

"Transitioning Ministers is never really a smooth business, but I think it would be for the best. We really need a strong leader right now." Blaise nodded and Hermione took a second to soak in how bizarre a feeling it was to have an intelligent conversation with someone like Blaise. Before she could muse over the situation for long, a different House elf than Faery interrupted them with the crack of apparition. This one gave a small bow before speaking.

"Master Blaise, Mistress Hermione."

She was instantly reminded of Edmond's promise to discuss House Elves in the future. Hermione realized it was foolish to expect the house elves to treat her any differently than Blaise, but she was not expecting them to recognize her as one of their Masters, or Mistress in this case, so soon. Maybe she could convince them to not treat her so formally.

"Forgive Baxter for interrupting your conversation, but there is a guest waiting in the parlor for you sir. It's Mr. Draco Malfoy, sir."

Sweet Circe.

"Bring him here Baxter." Blaise told the small elf.

"Maybe I should go." Hermione said as she started to stand up. Somehow, she felt like talking with Malfoy would not be as easy as it was with Blaise. If you could even call that _easy; _that was probably the most awkward start to a conversation Hermione had ever experienced. It would take awhile to adapt to the cool and calculating tone all Slytherins seemed to take when holding a conversation. Well, the Slytherins that she had conversed with. The same probably would not hold true for the Slytherins of lesser intelligence.

"Really Gran-… Hermione, if Father insists upon our getting along you might have to get used to Draco. Trust me; I don't look forward to the possibility of being around those that you call friend either." Blaise said, "Besides, I find both of you have personalities that can be near impossible to deal with at first so perhaps you'd get along. Somehow…Maybe if one of you got a severe head injury…" He added as an afterthought.

"Very funny, but it's hard to ignore that I've dealt with Malfoy for years and I have never once gotten the impression that we are kindred spirits. And you may not have to worry about my friends for awhile; after telling them about all this," she gestured towards the Manor behind them "We may not be on speaking terms for a couple of days or so."

"Brilliant. A couple of days and I'm sure I'll just be dying to see them. Do make sure you arrange a meeting sometime this week. We can have tea and pumpkin pasties whilst we all wonder why we ever hated each other." Hermione could not help but smile at his sarcasm. When he wasn't being hostile or rude, Blaise could be a funny guy. Well, in an I'm-putting-you-down-with-my-dry-humor kind of way.

"Just sit Granger." Hermione reluctantly sat down at his command "Good. Perhaps we can attempt to revive our only civil conversation before Draco arrives. He knows about you of course, but he'll probably be horrified to learn that I went a few sentences without insulting a Gryffindor."

"I think he'll survive." _Unfortunately._ Hermione added in her mind.

"Speak of the Devil and he shall appear. Hello Draco." Hermione closed her eyes and refused to turn around and see the blond nightmare. She could practically feel him drilling holes into her head.

_I will not acknowledge him, I will not acknowledge him, I will not acknowledge him._ Hermione thought.

_Very mature. _Maybe the presence of so many Slytherins kept calling the little Slytherin in her mind forward.

_I'm already trying to deal with one very unwelcome presence at the moment and another is not needed. So bugger off. Go back into some dark recess of my mind or wherever you came from. _

_Oh yes, because I love darkness, evil and such. It's interesting you find me so annoying Ms. Zabini as I am a part of your mind not some arch nemesis or something. _

_Why do you insist on calling me that?_

_You might as well get used to it; after all, it is your legal name. You even have a nice Z on your shoulder to forever mark you as a Zabini. _

Bugger.

In her anger, Hermione had forgotten to ask Edmond about the Z marking her shoulder. As soon as she followed him into the fireplace, either the mansion or the whirling flames had wiped any thoughts about tattoos and shoulders from her mind.

"I see you already have a guest Blaise." Draco commented lightly. Hermione looked up to see the newest addition to their party. He had moved to stand near Blaise and gave Hermione a passing glance before ignoring her.

_At least he didn't acknowledge me with something about my blood. _

_That's because you __**are**__ a pureblood you dolt. _

_Oh, right. _

"You could say that. I've been getting the feeling that father wants to give her a more permanent residence." Blaise said. Both of the boys clenched their jaws at that statement, although Draco looked like he was in a significantly higher amount of pain.

"That's…interesting…" Draco managed to get out past his still clenched teeth. Blaise nodded slightly and gestured to the seat opposite next to him. Unfortunately, it would put him face to face with Hermione as there were no other chairs available. Draco realized this immediately and hesitated.

"Are you sure Blaise? I wouldn't want to intrude." Although Hermione had yet to look at him, she could practically see him mouthing "Make me leave, make me leave!"

"It's nothing. I'm sure Gra– Hermione would appreciate an addition to our tea. Right?" Blaise asked Hermione.

She made a noncommittal sound of agreement and it was settled. Draco sat opposite Hermione and the awkwardness that the two Zabinis had worked past earlier returned full force.

"So Blaise," Hermione began "How do you know Edmond has plans for me to stay here?"

"He had Faery prepare a room for you. It doesn't take my amazing powers of deduction to figure out he wants you to stay here." Blaise said.

"Right…"Hermione said trailing off. Did she really want to stay there? It didn't feel right, but nowhere else felt right at the moment either.

The trio fell into silence once more. Blaise took the time to contemplate his father's sanity. Did he really expect them to get along? So they could hold a civil conversation, that didn't mean they were ever going to be best buddies.

While Blaise was berating himself over using the word "buddies", Draco was occupying himself by observing one of his greatest Gryffindor enemies.

This though, was not the Bookworm of Gryffindor to whom he had grown accustomed. While her hair had previously been a frizzy brown mess sitting atop her head, it now fell softly around her face in golden waves with a hint of curl. Her eyes were a light blue color, but since Draco did not occupy himself with remembering every detail of Hermione, he could not tell for sure if her eye shape had changed. It certainly looked different… as did her lips. They were somewhat plumper than before... perhaps they had always been like that; wouldn't he have noticed though? He definitely would have noticed the other changes and knew that for whatever reason her appearance had been altered.

Draco raked his eyes across her face searching for anymore differences between this girl and the one he had known (of) since first year at Hogwarts. No more could be seen, but Draco was finding her new appearance…

…_Increasingly…pleasant… -er than it was before! I can't find that former-beaver attractive. She still looks the same as she ever has. She is exactly the same with a __few__ differences._

Draco then realized how long he had been staring at Hermione. That could come off as creepy…

Maybe it should not be called staring. It was more like he was trying to see if he could look at the same spot so long that she would disappear. Yes, that was it.

He blinked.

No, she was still there. Perhaps he could do something about that…

"Well Granger, I'm sure much of the Wizarding world can now understand your natural adeptness for magic. Now that we know you're pureblood it makes so much more sense." Draco drawled out. Hermione however did not rise to the bait in the way he wished. Instead of yelling and allowing him to sit back and watch the show of her fury, she responded in a casual almost not caring tone.

"Really Malfoy, you come out of a war fought on prejudice, yet you can still be the same chauvinistic prat you were all along. That's quite the achievement. " Hermione said without looking at him. She was employing the (not so) useful coping method of pretending he wasn't there and it was just the same slimy Slytherin that existed in her mind.

"I never said _I _felt that way; only that there are others who were wondering." Draco said with a slightly miffed tone. His ever present sneer returned as he got the distinct annoyed feeling that came along with being admonished. Hermione was just wondering how the boy second in class could be such an idiot.

"You may have not said you felt that way just now, but you did imply it. Besides, I believe the dozens of times in the past, not only at school, but also when you were working for the Order, provide enough instances of you outright saying it."

Draco opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by a swift kick to his shins by Blaise. The two entered into a glaring match and Hermione watched with thinly concealed exasperation.

"As fun as this has been, I think I'll take my leave now." Hermione said as she stood up. Before either of the boys could respond, she turned towards the path and walked away quickly. She was well aware that she was practically running away, but she didn't stop until she had reached the interior of the Manor and was out of sight.

Unfortunately, she could still hear the conversation going on between the two she had left behind. The raised voices drifted up to the slightly ajar door and Hermione could not help but hear. It wasn't like she had anywhere else to go.

"Damn it Malfoy, the one thing I ask you not to do and you go right ahead and do it!" Blaise yelled.

"It's not my fault she's so intolerable!" Draco shot back.

"Surely you're kidding. She wasn't the one trying to antagonize the other person! Really Draco, when I say control yourself, I mean it. If you can't let go of your hatred, then at least attempt to hide it and don't pick at her."

Draco bristled at his words. Why did he feel like he was arguing with one of the adults who favored Hermione all of a sudden?

"Why are you so defensive about this?!" Draco asked.

"Unlike you I am coming to accept the fact that she is my sister! I haven't reached the point of liking that yet, but I see no reason to pretend she is anything else and treat her as we did before. You are my friend and I'm asking that you act mature. I'm not asking you to be friendly, Merlin forbid that will ever happen, but just act _tolerable_." Blaise was practically pleading by this point and it was obvious the anger had died out.

Hermione quietly closed the door the rest of the way. When she turned around to face the room she saw Edmond standing a few feet away from her. She felt a slight blush work its way onto her cheeks as she had just been caught eavesdropping.

"Hear anything interesting?" Edmond questioned casually.

"No, nothing at all." Hermione said innocently. "Perhaps a few birds singing, but nothing else."

Edmond just gave her that almost smile of his and turned towards a hallway.

"Come, I know you want to ask me about the Z on your shoulder and we need to discuss your living arrangements as well."

He started walking at a leisurely pace and Hermione gravitated to his side. Their walk was quiet as Hermione was thinking about the conversation she had overheard. They approached a closed door and Edmond opened it for her then stepped aside. As she was entering the room he spoke.

"You know, Blaise would not have stood up for you if he didn't like you."

Hermione paused in her step and responded.

"I don't really know him, but I figured as much." She said.

"Whether or not he realizes it, he's already accepted you as family, but it will take longer before he shows that on the outside. As for Draco, I've known him since he was young and he too will come around… eventually; he's just not one to easily adapt, but when he does, he often finds the new situation benefits him more than he could have imagined." Edmond finished. He gestured for Hermione to continue walking so she blindly entered the room.

As he shut the door behind them, Hermione wondered exactly what did he mean by his last statement.

~TBC~

**Thank you to the reader who pointed out I never really described Hermione's different appearance. It's just sometimes I think about a detail so much in my head it feels as if I've already included it. It's true that sometimes authors are simply waiting until a future chapter to reveal something, but this was an oversight on my part. No beta and all that, but I cope. :) As always, reviews are appreciated. **

**Until next time! xxxxxxx **


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